Dawn Days
by Short Work
Summary: What would a happy ending look like for Bishop and the Knight Captain? This is the alternate conclusion to The Hunter's Game.


The setting sun let little light through the trees as dusk fell on the forest and the crickets began to chirp. Bishop stayed quiet as he approached the small cabin hidden deep in the heart of the woods, wary of giving away his presence too early. It wasn't that he was afraid of the cabin's denizen, oh no. He simply wanted to estimate what sort of welcome he would receive before barging in.

It wasn't exactly under the best circumstances that he had left, and he felt simultaneously compelled to rush both forward and in the opposite direction when the cabin was within view. His warring emotions simply lead him to slow his pace as he got closer to the home, until he was nearly at its doorstep. He froze in his tracks when he spied the figure out in front of the cabin however, and ducked down carefully before he could be detected.

There she was. That woman. _His_ woman.

She was busying herself with getting blood all over her pale Aasimar hands, skinning a squirrel using the technique Bishop himself had taught her. She wasn't doing it perfectly, making more of a mess than she needed to, but it was a perfectly adequate job. Bishop couldn't help the proud smile that crawled across his face at watching her work.

She finished up quickly and made her way back inside the cabin, and in her absence Bishop quietly crept closer to the window of the little building she had helped him construct. The warm light coming from the fireplace was the first thing he could see through the glass, and the woman bending over the hearth as she put the squirrel meat into a stew hanging over the fire seemed right at home. He looked in every corner of the cabin he could see from his vantage point, noting that not a thing had changed.

Except for the bassinet. That hadn't been there before.

Bishop's eyes shot back to the Aasimar, trying to get a look at her figure underneath the loose apron she wore over her clothes. There was no doubt about it; she was thin. Either something was very wrong, or far more likely, Bishop had arrived too late.

She was going to be furious with him.

Bishop reminded himself one more time that he didn't fear the Aasimar's wrath. He was just going to have to walk into the cabin and get it all over with if he wanted even the chance to get his life back. The ranger stood up and took a deep breath, before walking to the cabin door and opening it.

The firelight poured over him from the open door, and Bishop felt a familiar comfort at the environment. "Dilys," Bishop said, slowly stepping foot past the threshold. She clearly didn't know he was there, since she pulled out a knife as she spun around to face him. Her face went from threatening to dull disappointment when she recognized Bishop, setting the knife back down on the table that functioned as the cabin's kitchen.

"Get out," she said flatly, turning back to the fireplace.

"We need to talk," Bishop said, approaching her at a glacial pace.

"Oh, _now _you want to talk?" she hissed as she faced Bishop once again, doing an admirable job of keeping her voice down. "You didn't want to talk when I told you I was pregnant. You just disappeared. No reasonable discussion, no considering the situation, you were just gone."

"I had to think," Bishop replied with a nonchalant shrug. "And I had to do it alone."

"Well you sure took your sweet time didn't you? You're too late now. I've already had the damn baby," Dilys said, gesturing to the bassinet in the corner.

It was at the mention of the baby that Bishop turned his attention to where Dilys had gestured. He carefully crept closer to the bassinet, getting a look at the infant quietly sleeping within. Bishop was wary of getting too close, as the very thought of any baby, much less his, was incredibly unnerving. He knew his natural behavior was more likely to kill the thing than nurture it, and with Dilys watching him like a praying mantis ready to cannibalize her mate, it was obviously a very bad idea to try putting his child-rearing skills to the test at the moment.

Bishop returned his gaze to Dilys as he moved away from the tiny sleeping creature. "You said you had a few more weeks left," he said.

"I was wrong," Dilys replied with a shrug. "It's easy to miscalculate when there were so many possible dates for conception." Bishop grinned lecherously as his mind briefly wandered back to one of their many encounters. The withering stare Dilys gave him as she crossed her arms quickly brought him back to the present however.

He glanced back at the figure in the bassinet. It was certainly tiny, but it probably didn't feel that way for Dilys when she had to give birth. "You were alone?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "I was staying at the inn in Port Llast for the final month, once it became too much to hunt for my own food. The midwife in town there helped me deliver."

"Did you give it a name?" Bishop asked. Dilys nodded softly.

"Dawn," she said.

Bishop sniffed with disdain. "Back to Lathander again..." He crossed his arms and gave Dilys a sly smirk. "Karnwyr would have been a better choice," he said.

"Karnwyr is a boy's name," Dilys replied dismissively. "Why are you here Bishop?"

Bishop went silent for a moment, lifting his head as he sized up the woman before him. "I built this cabin didn't I?" he said eventually. "I want it back."

"Fine, I'll move to Port Llast as soon as possible," Dilys said. She was not going to make this easy. Bishop ground his teeth a bit, annoyed that he would have to cut to the chase so soon, but he had no choice. Bishop never really had a place or an atmosphere he had felt at home with until he became involved with Dilys. A forest, a cabin, and a campsite were all simply places, but it was wherever Dilys was that seemed like home.

And Dilys wasn't stupid. Bishop could tell that she knew what he had really come for. It was time for Bishop to spit it out.

"I want _you_ back," he grumbled, taking a step towards her. Dilys didn't miss a beat.

"No, you want to go back to the way things were," she shot.

"So do you," Bishop countered. He didn't even have to ask. He knew she was just as happy as he had been with their former way of life.

"Of course I do," Dilys breathed, slumping her shoulders. "I loved what we had, but all that's gone now, and it isn't coming back." She walked over to the bassinet and gazed at the sleeping baby. "The honeymoon is over. Dawn has come." She didn't bother returning her attention to Bishop as she spoke to him. "So you might as well leave."

"None of that has to end, Dash," Bishop replied. This time Dilys did turn away from the child, and visibly restrained herself from stomping as she moved over to Bishop.

"Yes it does! Because it's not just you and me anymore!" she hissed. Dilys gestured back and forth between herself and the baby. "It's us."

"No..." Bishop said, giving a knowing shake of the head. "I _know_ you. You didn't want this kid anymore than I did." He stepped closer to Dilys, lowing his voice. "You could get rid of it, leave it with someone at Port Llast, and things could go right back to the way they were." Dilys closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily, straining to keep herself composed.

"I know because of who you are," she began slowly. "That you don't understand how reprehensible what you just said was. "Dilys paused and took another deep breath. "But trust me when I tell you that it was a new low even for you. It's not about me anymore, or what I want. It's about her," she said, waving her arm at the bassinet.

The tone in her voice carried a note of finality that was not lost on Bishop. He stared hard at her as he weighed his options. He had spent a lot of time thinking about what he wanted for the few months he was off on his own, and what his options were if he couldn't have that. But now that he was in the moment having to actually make the decision, everything seemed a little clearer. Eventually he spoke.

"What if I stayed?"

Dilys scoffed in response. "I think no father at all would be better than you Bishop," she said, rolling her eyes.

"So _you're_ going to teach her how to use the bow and arrow then?" he asked, the disbelief landing flat in his voice. "Or maybe you'll just raise her in a humble home at Port Llast, caged by her own lack of skill."

Dilys grimaced, clearly stung by the thought of her daughter being trapped in some quaint little village the same way Dilys had been chained to West Harbor growing up. "I'll get someone else to teach her," she said, brushing a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "Someone who isn't you."

"The hell you will," Bishop growled, moving in even closer to Dilys so that he was invading her personal space. "You can't replace me."

"Just leave Bishop," Dilys sighed, growing weary of the conversation but refusing to back away.

"Oh, you know me better than that," he said, his voice dipping low to his 'threateningly seductive' tone. "I don't give up on a hunt, and in case you haven't realized it yet Dash... _you're_ my prey. So you can _try_ to ignore me, pretend that you aren't being hunted every waking minute. But the mama wolf has to come out of her den sometime, and when that happens... _I'll_ be there, waiting to move in for the kill."

The instant Bishop's lips stopped speaking they were on hers, claiming the kiss he'd so badly missed on his time away. Fire immediately ran through his veins, the passion he felt for this woman so strong it was almost unbearable. He knew Dilys felt it too, as she could not stop herself from giving into the kiss for at least one long moment.

He could sense her struggling with herself though, and before long she had torn her mouth away from his and pulled Bishop's knife from its holster on his chest, pointing it at his neck. She did not release her vice-like grip on the holster, keeping Bishop's body pressed against hers, and yet forcing him to keep away as she brandished his own weapon against him.

"Make up your damn mind, woman," Bishop said, his voice rumbling deep in his chest against hers.

"I won't let you ruin her life," Dilys said, breathing deeply. Her cheeks were flushed red from the kiss she so obviously enjoyed.

"Neither will I," Bishop replied. Dilys sighed deeply in response.

"How are you going to stop yourself Bishop?" she asked. "Can you even think of living for someone other than yourself?" She shook her head sadly, "Because that's what you'll have to do if you want to stay."

"That's what I've been _doing_. For you," he answered, his voice getting irate. "If I was only thinking of myself then I would have left you behind whenever you slowed me down."

Dilys raised her head, looking back at Bishop with suspicion. "Why didn't you?" she asked.

"Don't think it never crossed my mind," he quickly amended. "I can't stand being tied down. That's just who I am." Bishop rested his forehead against hers and breathed deep, taking in her scent. Dilys held his gaze, either unwilling or unable to move away from him.

"But I'm as tied to you as I'm tied to my left hand," Bishop continued. "It's not that skilled and I can't always get it to work the way I need it to, but I'm not going to hack it off for its shortcomings. It's a part of me." Dilys went still at his words, taking in what he said before shaking her head slowly against Bishop's.

"That baby is a part of you now too," she whispered. "She's _made_ from you, just as she's made from me."

Bishop lifted his head away from Dilys and looked towards the bassinet. Dilys belonged to Bishop. She was _his_ woman. But she wasn't going to let him keep her without keeping the baby as well. It all came down to just how badly Bishop wanted to keep Dilys.

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice," he said with a shrug.

Dilys tensed up at his answer, and her whisper came out strained and harsh. "Do you promise to never leave again?" she asked.

"No," he said plainly.

Dilys slumped her shoulders and slowly slid the knife back into the holster strapped to Bishop's chest. When she turned to move away, Bishop slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"But if there's one thing being away from you for so long has taught me, it's that I'll always come back," he said, before tilting her face up towards his and kissing her. This time Dilys didn't resist.

They quietly moved back towards the bed as they undressed each other, careful not to make a sound so as to not wake the baby. Bishop paused and held her close when he had gotten Dilys out of her clothes, gripping her tightly enough to make it a little hard for her to breathe. When he released her, he kissed her with all the emotion he was carrying.

They both knew there were things Bishop would never say. His unhappy way of life had left him incapable of forming the words, as if his tongue simply didn't work that way. It was only through his kiss and his passionate embrace that he could express how he felt for this woman. Dilys understood him perfectly.

* * *

><p>Dilys stretched her arms out above her head as she woke just before sunrise. She felt quite content with herself, happy to get a good night's sleep as she realized that Dawn had not cried once the entire night.<p>

"Thank Lathander for small miracles," she mumbled to herself as she rolled onto her side. She stared into space for a moment, before she sat up straight and looked wildly around the room.

Bishop was nowhere to be seen.

Dilys ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "Of course," she whispered. Shaking her head, she flung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, gathering her clothes from up off the floor. She cleared her mind as she got dressed, determined to first find some breakfast before wallowing in self pity for not predicting the consequences of forgiving Bishop so easily. "Dammit," she said quietly, not entirely succeeding in keeping a clear head as she opened up the front door. She froze halfway through the threshold.

Right outside the front face of the cabin was Bishop, sitting on a log and skinning a young buck. He glanced up to see Dilys standing in the doorway and offered her a smirk. "I don't really have the appetite for overcooked squirrel stew," he said, standing up and wiping his hands on his leather armor. "So I hunted down a real meal. You better be hungry."

Dilys just stared at him, amazed that he was actually still with her. When he looked away to return his attention to the meal preparations, she charged at him and threw her arms around him for a hug.

Bishop always had difficulties with an innocent embrace. Unlike the possessive grip he locked her in the previous night, hugging simply for the sake of hugging felt aimless and awkward. Dilys for her part almost never subjected Bishop to a random embrace, but even if he had made love to this woman many, many times, just holding her did not come naturally to him.

"You're uh, getting blood on your shirt," he said, uncomfortably holding his hands out by his sides. Dilys said nothing, and pulled back to look into his face, recognizing his expression. She was quick to decide on a course of action, and simply pulled her shirts off so that her bare skin was pressed up against him and resumed the embrace. Bishop quirked an eyebrow at the gesture before laughing softly.

He wrapped his arms around her, slowly trailing his fingers down her back before speaking. "You know, that night before the siege at Crossroad Keep, I had imagined what our life would be like if we ran away together."

"Did it involve me holding you topless in the woods?" Dilys asked.

"Not exactly," he replied. "But I did predict that with you around I wouldn't be able to get anything done and we'd starve to death." Bishop suddenly swept Dilys up into his arms over the threshold style. "It's starting to look like I was right," he said, abandoning the meal and carrying a laughing Dilys back into the cabin.

* * *

><p><strong>I think Bishop could eventually get past his emotional damage and have a happy ending. But Bishop's fate is crucial to the plot of Mask of the Betrayer, and I like that expansion too much to disregard it altogether. So <strong>_**Dawn Days**_** remains just a flight of fancy that couldn't ever really happen within the game universe, but that's what fanfiction is for, right? ;)**


End file.
